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sunny_r's review
4.0
4.5 - truly impressive writing for a YA novel, though the villain was a little too one dimensional for my taste (I mean, a woman without a conscience is definitely evil, but I feel that the best villains are understandable and dynamic)
lenore13's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
It's todo long and confused un some parts
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
5.0
I have no idea why it took me this long to read this book. I got it on its release day. I was also very excited to read it, but it's a big book, especially since Howard's English is a few levels above mine. However, since I already completed my reading challenge and since I really wanted to claim that I read all Howard's published books this was the perfect moment to get to it. It was the challenge I knew it was gonna be, but it was so worth it.
Howard really manages to create a wonderful and magical world in this book. I'm not the kind of person who has very vivid images in mind while reading, normally, but in this book I got really clear images of both kingdoms, what their buildings looked like, what their sky looked like, what all the creatures living there looked like. The descriptions were so vivid and so detailed and they were most of all very atmospheric.
Just like the entire story. The atmosphere in this story was so brilliantly done. I could sense the magic in it, I could sense all the emotions of the characters, I could sense the tension and halfway I started to notice how I started rooting for these characters and their happy endings. I was invested. I was so invested that there were moments I was choking up and on the brink of crying. I was shouting at the characters, I was screaming at them, yelling at them and most of all loving them to pieces.
Both the princess and the prince are such wonderful characters. Yes, they are easy to love and like, but they are also flawed. They are, in a way, beautifully human. And I love beautifully human characters, characters that could be real, without being way too perfect. They were the perfect heroes in this wonderful fairytale, because in the end it's a fairytale in every possible way. It has darkness, it has light, it has lessons to be learned, it has villains and heroes, it has curses needing to be broken and fake princesses needing to be defeated.
It was a slow read for me and I hope that some of the new words I learned stick, but it was such a perfect, wonderful, emotional, enchanting story and therefore worth every minute and every hour I spent with it.
Howard really manages to create a wonderful and magical world in this book. I'm not the kind of person who has very vivid images in mind while reading, normally, but in this book I got really clear images of both kingdoms, what their buildings looked like, what their sky looked like, what all the creatures living there looked like. The descriptions were so vivid and so detailed and they were most of all very atmospheric.
Just like the entire story. The atmosphere in this story was so brilliantly done. I could sense the magic in it, I could sense all the emotions of the characters, I could sense the tension and halfway I started to notice how I started rooting for these characters and their happy endings. I was invested. I was so invested that there were moments I was choking up and on the brink of crying. I was shouting at the characters, I was screaming at them, yelling at them and most of all loving them to pieces.
Both the princess and the prince are such wonderful characters. Yes, they are easy to love and like, but they are also flawed. They are, in a way, beautifully human. And I love beautifully human characters, characters that could be real, without being way too perfect. They were the perfect heroes in this wonderful fairytale, because in the end it's a fairytale in every possible way. It has darkness, it has light, it has lessons to be learned, it has villains and heroes, it has curses needing to be broken and fake princesses needing to be defeated.
It was a slow read for me and I hope that some of the new words I learned stick, but it was such a perfect, wonderful, emotional, enchanting story and therefore worth every minute and every hour I spent with it.
renee_c's review against another edition
4.0
4/5
Stain is marketed as a retelling of the Princess and the Pea, but the story that A.G. Howard paints is much larger than that.
Howard is naturally skilled at world building. The kingdoms and settings she creates feel natural in her writing, and her scope covers everything from the environment to the industry to the culture. In Stain, she creates intergenerational storylines and beautifully ties them all together. I was interested in both the past and the future of the individuals in the ensemble of a characters, because Howard gave each of them a developed backstory that explained his or her motivations. The only flaw with having this many characters is that it's harder to grow too attached to a single one. Although I liked reading each of their stories, I didn't feel particularly emotionally tied to any one character.
The biggest downside to Stain is the pace. It is slow but consistent. I knew what was going to happen even if I didn't know how, and I spent a lot of the novel impatiently anticipating the future and wishing Howard had felt the same urgency. And once the prince and princess finally met, I felt that Howard didn't stress or stretch out that moment as much as she should have, especially given how long I had waited for that moment. But overall, the plot and characters are engaging enough that despite the pace, I never considered putting the book down.
I love when a story has multiple components that all tie together, which is what happens in Stain. Howard builds a beautiful story and world, and I would highly recommend Stain to fans of dark fairytales and storylines with fate.
Stain is marketed as a retelling of the Princess and the Pea, but the story that A.G. Howard paints is much larger than that.
Howard is naturally skilled at world building. The kingdoms and settings she creates feel natural in her writing, and her scope covers everything from the environment to the industry to the culture. In Stain, she creates intergenerational storylines and beautifully ties them all together. I was interested in both the past and the future of the individuals in the ensemble of a characters, because Howard gave each of them a developed backstory that explained his or her motivations. The only flaw with having this many characters is that it's harder to grow too attached to a single one. Although I liked reading each of their stories, I didn't feel particularly emotionally tied to any one character.
The biggest downside to Stain is the pace. It is slow but consistent. I knew what was going to happen even if I didn't know how, and I spent a lot of the novel impatiently anticipating the future and wishing Howard had felt the same urgency. And once the prince and princess finally met, I felt that Howard didn't stress or stretch out that moment as much as she should have, especially given how long I had waited for that moment. But overall, the plot and characters are engaging enough that despite the pace, I never considered putting the book down.
I love when a story has multiple components that all tie together, which is what happens in Stain. Howard builds a beautiful story and world, and I would highly recommend Stain to fans of dark fairytales and storylines with fate.
therealbel's review
4.0
A combination of many, many fractured fairy tales, a fun read. I loved the double act of Crony and Luce, enjoyed the pantomime baddy-ness of Griselda, and enjoyed following Lyra’s journey.
petrifiedsap's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
vaporization's review
3.0
(A.G. Howard is my guilty pleasure)
The writing was a bit too much, a little overly-flowery, but I did love the atmosphere it created. I didn't really care about Vesper and what he had going on but at least Lyra/Stain was interesting. Crony and Luce were the ones who really brought the life to the story, though. Crony carried
The writing was a bit too much, a little overly-flowery, but I did love the atmosphere it created. I didn't really care about Vesper and what he had going on but at least Lyra/Stain was interesting. Crony and Luce were the ones who really brought the life to the story, though. Crony carried
starrysea98's review
4.0
under all that purple prose, this is actually pretty good. things only get more interesting after about the first hundred pages though - the build up is TEDIOUS. plus the seemingly made-up terms the author uses to name her creations - imagine naming a character Avarice! - make it a little bit confusing for me bc i was constantly forgetting what term meant what.
however, lyra turns out to be quite a courageous and clever woman despite having no voice. she’s fiercely loyal and someone i enjoyed reading about. my favourite character has to be luce tho!
however, lyra turns out to be quite a courageous and clever woman despite having no voice. she’s fiercely loyal and someone i enjoyed reading about. my favourite character has to be luce tho!